Ticking Time Bomb
by TooFabulous
Summary: My first Paramore fanfiction.  Basically the lives of Paramore on tour and such. I'm really bad at summaries.  TAYLEY! Rated T for minor cursing
1. Prologue

**Hey Guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever. But I've done some editing and stuff so here is the newly edited Prologue of Ticking Time Bomb. I don't have internet at my beach house so I will not be able to post anything until sometime next week. I've made some minor changes here, but the next chapter will have way more. Sorry for the wait, enjoy!**

**_"Rewind to the first time that I felt it coming, I knew it would not last, And Rewind to the first time that I felt it coming, Make it quick, make it painless." - Rewind by Paramore  
><em>**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

**Hayley**

If you had told me years ago, before I had fans, before I was in a band, all the stupid stuff I would have to go through to reach happiness, I would've thought you were insane.

If you had told me, I would be in a band with four of my best friends; I would've said that nothing ever lasts. Everything that I had gone through taught me that. And fans? Please, I would've never imagined to even have fans. I always knew I wanted to be in a band, but it always seemed out of reach. And when the chance came, I grabbed hold of it and held on for dear life.

I thought my band would be close and open with each other. I thought we would talk about what bothered us and what needed to change. I thought that was what was happening. I guess I didn't know what was going on behind the scenes, even though I was there. Fixing the problems never happened. We kept adding insult to injury; not a good combo. Then the perfection behind a band with the best fans in the world fell apart. The shame behind it all is that the fans watched one of go insane and the other fall apart.

If I had known our band was going to be a ticking time bomb, I would've searched for a way to diffuse it, but the ticking was silent and it exploded before I even knew what was going on.

I never thought that someone I called a friend would hurt me, and almost kill me. I never knew I was also hurting one of the closest people to me in the process. I never knew how easily trust is lost. I never knew that I would get to a point where I felt like things were getting better, then watch it all crash on top of me. I didn't know the power depression can have on a person.

I couldn't have imagined such anger radiating from one person. I never understood the insanity behind a grudge; vow to never let one moment go. I never thought that someone would keep score of all the mistakes I made. I never knew that they would use them all against me. I couldn't ever understand that people never change (even though I always preached it); and that someone I thought I knew could turn almost evil. And to know that he was always that way, we were just too ignorant to see it; it was hidden behind a carefully composed mask.

I always knew love never existed, but I never knew hate made the world go round; I was told that love's job. And that pain is just a normal part of life that never seems to go away.

I learned that even though some people want to break you down, there are others who want to keep you together; and that some days those people are the only ones who keep you going.

This band is all I have and I will never let it go, no matter what happens.

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><p><strong>Review? Maybe? Please!<strong>


	2. CH 1 All I Know

**Alright, here is chapter 1. I've edited a bunch and tried to fix as many grammer errors as I could find. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy!**

_**"It takes some time to let you go, and it shows, cause all we know is falling, it falls, remember cause I know that we won't forget at all." - All We Know by Paramore**_

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

**All I Know**

**Hayley**

"Mommy?" I asked my mom, barely able to keep my eyes opened, but I said I wasn't going to bed until dad returned and I meant it.

"Yes, Hayles?"

"Where's Daddy?"

"Hayley, I wish I knew." She said with tears in her eyes. I knew from the look in her eyes to stay quiet and just wait.

Not too long after, daddy walked through the door. I hid behind the arm chair, knowing something bad was going to happen.

"JOEY! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?"

My dad shrugged, "Busy at work".

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANY MORE JOEY! THIS HAS GONE ON WAY TOO LONG!" My mom shouted, forgetting I was in the room. I hate seeing my parents fight; I love my parents, even though sometimes they do the wrong things.

You think I would be used to this by now, but I still cringe and silently scream from behind the chair. My dad pushed past my mom, moving towards the stair case.

"NO! YOU DON'T THINK I KNOW ABOUT THOSE OTHER WOMEN, DO YOU? I IGNORED IT FOR HAYLEY'S SAKE, BUT I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! GET OUT! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" My mom screamed.

"YOU BITCH," He spat out, "You don't have the right to judge me when you've done the same." He continued to walk up the stairs.

"You don't love me anymore, I needed it from somewhere." She cried out defensively.

"Me too," he said stomping down the hall; I could hear his footfalls from my hiding spot.

My mom continued to scream at him, following him upstairs and I heard him shout back at her, "It was one kiss! I told her no because I have a beautiful daughter at home and a beautiful wife. But clearly that didn't stop her from cheating on me!"

"You don't love me! I need love!" She cried.

"I do love you Chris, but at the same time, how can I love someone who cheated on me? How can I be with someone who doesn't want me anymore? If you don't think I'm good enough, I might as well be around someone who does!"

My mom gasped and cried out again, "So you did cheat on me?!"

"Well, after you cheated on me in _our_ bed, I said screw it!" My dad shouted and I could picture him shaking in anger.

My mother always blamed my father for the divorce, but if they had tried harder, they could've fixed things, and saved me from a ton of pain. They brought it upon themselves. I wish I could've stopped them, told them what I would go through in the future because of their choices. Maybe they would've done things differently. But then again, where would I be today?

Anyway, a six year old like me would find this terrifying, and I sat on the floor shaking.

I heard my mom's footsteps coming into the living room and she said "Where's Hayley?" like she just remembered that I was still downstairs.

"Hayley?" she called out and I whimpered in response. "Oh baby, I wish you didn't have to see that." She said in a sad tone and I noticed she was crying. "Hayley, I want to tell you something." I nodded in response.

"I will never forget this, because you don't deserve this. You and I deserve better. Never forget that, you don't need to settle like I did, because it never works." She sighed. "Now, it is way past your bedtime, so get a move on."

I never forgot what she said that night.

I climbed up the stairs, confused by my mom's speech. I put my pajamas on and brushed my teeth and climbed into bed. A few minutes later, my dad came into my room. He sat down at the edge of my bed.

"Daddy?" I said.

"Hayley baby, I'm sorry,"

"I don't like it when you and Mommy fight." I told him.

"I know, I don't like it either."

I then asked, "Why are you and Mommy not in love anymore?"

Tear filled his eyes when he answered me, "I don't know, baby. I still love Mommy but, sometimes it's not all about what you want. But I love you, always, never forget that."

I never did.

"You aren't going to leave me, are you?" I then asked.

The tear finally spilled over, "No baby. I would never leave you. And if I ever go, I'll always be in your heart and the same for me, you'll always be there."

He broke his promise of leaving me; not that he had a choice. But he never stopped loving me, no matter what. My mother drove him away, and then blamed him for it. She did that to everyone, blamed everything on everyone else. I think she never wanted to believe that she failed, like her mother said she would. Somehow I was stuck in the crosshairs of her never ending battle with herself.

Anyways, I nodded at my dad, not really understanding him. He kissed my forehead and stood up.

"Goodnight Hayles, see you in the morning."

I slowly drifted off to sleep making a promise to myself that I would never believe in love, because it doesn't exist. It can't exist if a family can fall apart like that. I never forgot what both of my parents said that night; both of their words and their actions left a scar on my life, one that always stared at me at my worst and saddest moments .

It wasn't much of a better morning.

The next morning I woke to the sound of shattering glass. I groaned and pulled myself out of bed and ran down the hallway. I slowly made my way down the stairs, not knowing what was going on, and not wanting to hurt myself.

"Christie, stop," My dad's voice said calmly. I looked down and saw mom throwing all of the picture frames of her and Dad at him and on the floor, glass shattered.

"NO! I meant what I said last night! We're over. Get out Joey!"

"Christie…."

"No. I've put up with this too long. It's over,"

"What about Hayley! She-"

"I gave you enough chances, and you continued to act the same. You think all of this doesn't terrify Hayley! Get out!" Then she threw a suitcase out the front door.

"I continued to act the same?! At least I care about my daughter and I was honest about what happened! You went behind my back and tore us apart! You're the one smashing picture frames and screaming your head off, not me. I love you please don't do this." My daddy begged.

My mommy started to cry.

"There's someone else, isn't there? You love someone else." My daddy shouted sadly. My mommy didn't answer, which was more of an answer than anything.

"Chris, come on we can fix this. Don't do this, please," he begged, crying too.

"Sooner or later this was gonna' happen. Just leave Joey."

"Daddy! Don't leave me!" I cried and ran to my dad as he walked towards the door. I hugged his legs when I reached him.

"I love you baby, I'll see you later. Remember what you I told you last night." He pried my fingers off his legs and left the house. I watched him sit on the stairs outside the house and shout so loud I could hear it through the door, "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Which I knew was not a nice word.

I stood at the door crying for a long time, and not from the glass in my foot that I stepped on. I never wanted my dad to leave. He failed me. I loved him and he left me. Just the first of many.

My mom came over and hugged me, telling me everything would be okay, but deep inside, she knew that wasn't true. My mom left me standing there, crying for Daddy to come back; tears filling her own eyes at my cries. She ran to get the tweezers and first aid kit to remove the glass sticking out of my foot.

When she was gone I glanced around the room; surveying the damage my mom caused. I sat down, careful not to push the glass further into my foot. I gathered the ripped up pictures. I sat amidst the torn up photos and broken glass. I found one photo that was still intact. I reached far across the floor carefully avoiding the glass, until the picture was in my grasp. The photo was of my mommy and daddy going to prom. In the picture my parents looked so happy and in love, unlike they are now, seven years later. It's pretty, flowered frame was smashed to the point of no return. I carefully hid the photo under the couch which wasn't too far away.

My mom returned then with the first aid kit in tow. She sat down next to me.

"Let me see your foot Hayley." She said. I moved towards her. She cleaned some blood from my foot and avoided the glass. "Baby, this is gonna' hurt a little, but when we're all done, we'll go get some ice cream. Okay?" I nodded, as any seven year old would at the mention of ice cream.

She moved the tweezers, which looked like pinchers of a crab in my seven year old mind. The pinchers grabbed the clear glass and pulled at it. I whimpered a bit, but it didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. This was tame compared to my future experiences with glass. The piece of glass wasn't that big, so I didn't need stitches or anything. My mommy put a big band-aid on it and stood up.

"Well, Daddy and I made a big mess, so I'm gonna' vacuum all the glass up. Why don't you go get dressed so we can go get some nice ice cream?"

Little did I know that moment was the beginning of my mom giving me things so she didn't have to deal with the pain she gave me; to deal with the idea I was in pain. Buying things and letting me do whatever I want and never telling me no doesn't change the damage you do. In a way it makes it more apparent. She never dealt with the pain she put me through, putting me through more; and it caused me problems in the end.

When Mommy disappeared into the kitchen to get the vacuum, I grabbed the photo of Mommy and Daddy, intent on saving it.

I ran up the steps, taking two at a time. I ran into my room, hiding the photo quickly. I hid the picture in my jewelry box that my grandmother, who I call Nana, had given to me a long time ago. I wanted to keep the picture because I knew my mom would throw it away if she found it. This was all the proof I had that my parents were together and happy.

I didn't want to let the memory die like my parents marriage, but it's hard to remember things you don't see every day. The fights and all the bad things I had seen masked the happy times. This day was the beginning of a life long battle with myself, the battle with myself; the battle of trusting others. People failing me is _all I know_. It's hard to change, because you can't change your roots and memories; and those make you who you are. I wish I could say that my mother learned from her mistakes, but she made them over and over again. I wish I could say my life was different, but that wouldn't be true. To understand me, you have to understand where I came from and what I've seen and lived through. All of this is part of what made me who I am today.

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><p><strong>Review? For Hayley's sake! Review! They really do motivate me!<strong>


	3. CH 2 Innocence

**So, anyone else excited for Paramore's new album? I know I am! Disclaimer: I do not own Hayley, Josh, Zac, Taylor, Jason, Justin or anyone who I didn't make up. I don't own the lyrics posted below either. :(**

**I decided that I wanted to do a quote at the top of every chapter, yes I'm going to add some in the first chapters as well.**

**_"I fear I might break, and I fear I can't take it, Tonight I'll lie awake feeling empty!" - Pressure by Paramore_**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

**Innocence**

_**Hayley**_

A few weeks later we moved out of my dad's house. We moved into Nana's house; but my mom was never there with us. My mom didn't have money, didn't have a job, or any college education. My mom was going to move us into her new boyfriend's house, but my grandmother found out and took me in during the day while my mom went back to work and school. I'm glad she did, I wouldn't have wanted to grow up in that environment.

Life wasn't easy at first, my mom worked as a waitress at a local restaurant, not making enough money to afford a house to rent. My mom didn't enjoy coming to pick me up from the one person she never wanted see near again. She worked during the day, went to classes for college at night; so she wasn't home until I was asleep. She hated picking us up from our Nana so much that she moved me into the new boyfriend's house too. My mom later married him.

The first few months, my dad called every day. But slowly, the calls stopped. It mostly was because he was so sad about what my mother did and _moving on _before he did. Then all I ever heard from Nana was, "I told your mother that guy was a deadbeat, I told her he was no good. But she never listened! And you know what; she's stuck with a kid at a young age, with no help from anyone else. She stuck back with me! After she said she hated me and never wanted to see me ever again! The nerve of her! I can't believe she ran off with him…." And it went on for day after day. I was little, and I didn't understand what was going on; but I do now.

And then the divorce was finalized and custody battles started. The arguing went on for the longest time. I don't think either of my parents got over it. In the end, the argument was this: Mom- He works, but he's never home and I should grow up with a parent around. Dad- She took me without a word; she has no steady income, no job, and no home.

In the end, my mom won. How and why? I don't know. I probably would've been better off living with my dad. I wonder what my life would be like if I had. I would never get the opportunities I found if I had lived with my father.

My mom had me when she was seventeen. So at twenty-four (when my parents divorced), my mom was still young, and as other people told me, attractive; even though the appendage of a seven-year old daughter was probably not. My mother never had trouble finding a date, but was always attracted to the wrong guys. A couple of months after the divorce, my mom married her boyfriend (Dave? I'm not sure I just called him Sir for the most part), though it sucked for me. I had never had siblings before and suddenly I had a step brother, Zach. He was pretty nice, I still keep in contact with him; his father on the other hand was not. He used to scream at me all the time when my mother wasn't around, but she didn't believe me. She said my dad set me up to it. By this time, I learned to never get close to someone, because they were never as they appeared to be. He wasn't a kind, loving stepdad, but a verbally abusive one. I told my dad about it, who told my mom, but she still wouldn't believe me.

When she was twenty-six, she finished her education in cosmetology, and got a real job at some really popular salon back in Meridian. Life started improving after that. The only bad thing was my stepdad; my mom was with him for seven years, though I only lived with him for four and a half years. The first year my parents were still married, I didn't live with him until my mom got sick of our grandmother and the last year my mom moved us out but couldn't pay the lawyer. By the time I was nine, I completely understood what he was saying. After we moved out, we started renting our own two bedroom apartment. We started going to church again (our stepdad was atheist and wouldn't let us go to church). Life turned around.

Everything was good except my mom couldn't stay in love. The only thing she ever wanted in life, she didn't have. She didn't want kids, money, or a job, school or to travel. All she wanted was love. And she couldn't find it. She would give everything away for love. She would put her heart on her sleeve and expected it wouldn't be broken. But even I knew better; don't put your heart on the line if you're afraid of it being crushed.

She dated guy after guy (even while she was still with my stepdad, though he did the same thing so who really cares), but they all weren't right for her. She gave up a lot for love, and in a way, she wasn't just hurting herself. Every heart-break she went through, every chance she gave up for love, I lost something too. She was hurting me without even realizing it. She ruined my innocent view of the world. Once it's gone, you can't get it back.

Taylor

If you ask someone what a perfect family is, it definitely wasn't Hayley's. It probably isn't Josh and Zac's family. And is probably is Jason's either or Jason's, or Hunter's, or John's. But when most people look at my family, they see perfection. I was the youngest of my three brothers, always the 'baby' of the family and the quiet one. Everything about us looked, and seemed to be, perfect. My family was together and had our faith. But something was lacking in my life. I could never figure it out. I had friends, family, music, and faith. What was I missing?

I discovered what I was missing the day I saw a flash of blond hair in a crowd of a concert. I saw her, and realized that I was missing love. Sure you can love your dog, or your friends; but you see that one person, and after that, it's over. A small piece of innocence was chipped away from the world, knowing I would never see her again.

Everyone thought our lives were perfect. I kept up the façade my family held on to, but it was a fairy tale to me. My life was plagued with depression. As long as I can remember, my life was black and empty. Suicide thoughts blared through my mind day after day, like some heavy metal song, each dark note a new though. Only one person made me forget; made me happy. And when she was gone, hope was too.

Hayley

As I grew older, things improved. My mom became less dependent on love and started focusing on me, instead of herself. I had time, and she felt like she blew her chance at love when she ran off and got married at sixteen. It was out there though; she had to be willing to see it.

My mom became better and better at her job. She soon became the top stylist at her salon and was the woman all the clients asked for. She became close friends with many of the people she worked on.

My mom and Dave(?) were officially divorced when I was twelve, after she believed me. As soon as she realized what I was saying was the truth, we left. We were on an upswing. Things were great until… She was set up on a blind date. You know, one of those cliché ones where you got to some Italian restaurant and you meet this random guy. Yep. One of those. I was twelve at that time. She met this guy and she really had fun on the date. So they went out again. And she fell in love with him. By this time I didn't even believe her because I had heard it so many times; it seemed like every guy she met she fell in love with. They got married just four months after they met. Here we go again.

Almost a year after they got married, my stepfather's job had him transferred out of Mississippi and to Tennessee; to Nashville. And this wasn't in the summer or anything; it was in the middle of October. Without a second thought, no matter how much I protested, she moved us with him out to Tennessee. I was going to be the new girl in the small town of Franklin, a suburb of Nashville. Franklin is one of those towns where everyone knows everyone. We all know how much I loved this idea.

"Hayley, everything is going to be okay. I know you don't want to move, but this town is not going to be like the last one, I promise. Your stepdad grew up there. Everyone is going to love you, I swear!"

"Mom, just shut up. You know that no matter what you say, I'm going to hate this town. You're just preaching to the choir." She frowned, but left me alone. You would think she would stop bothering me after four hours, but she just kept going. We drove past a sign that read "Welcome to Franklin, TN". My anxiety was growing as we drove through the main plaza.

I watched teens exit stores and restaurants and mothers pushing their children in strollers; kids skipping down the sidewalk. Stereotypical town. But as I watched the normal life around me, another piece of innocence chipped away; knowing that my life would never be like that. My parents ruined the normal life for me.

Anyway, we pulled up in front of this cute average sized home. It had a little garden in the front and a two car garage.

"Home sweet home," my stepfather said as he opened the car door and my mother grabbing a box that the movers decided not to move in for us. My stepdad grabbed two more boxes and I followed silently. "You know being upset isn't going to do you any good," he told me, but I really didn't care about what he thought. He's the one that made us move in the first place.

Trying to get away as soon as possible, I ran up stairs to find my new bedroom. It didn't take long to figure out the red-orange painted door was mine. Orange and red shades have been my favorite colors since I was young and I always have the urge to dye my hair that color. Maybe when I get used to Franklin I'll start. I don't want anyone to think I'm a freak because I have fire truck hair.

Sorry about the rant about red but, I could tell it was my room because of the door. I walked in to see my room completely different from the last one I had. I don't know if my parents were pulling the 'I'll make her feel better by making her room awesome.' If that was the case, they nailed it. It had red walls and a black and red comforter on the bed. All the furniture was black. For a second I missed my old room, but then I realized that I wasn't making my life any easier holding on to the last shard of innocence I had left. Some things needed to change, and I couldn't stop it. The last shard shattered when I saw my guitar in the corner on its stand, which my dad had bought me for my tenth birthday, immediately falling in love with the instrument, though not as much as my passion for piano. Those memories made me miss him even more. My music book lay open on the desk.

I swear I almost had a heart attack when I saw that.

Rage filled me when I saw my notebook. No one, not even my family was allowed to read my songs. I sprinted down the stairs to where my mom and stepdad were cuddling on the couch. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. My mom looked up and noticed my angry expression.

"Hayley baby, what's wrong?"

"Who unpacked my room?" I asked, trying not to let the venom sink into my tone.

"I did, why?" My stepfather replied, "Is there something wrong with it, because we can change it if you want."

"No its fine, but someone left my music notebook open. Someone was reading it."I said finally letting the venom seep into my voice. My stepfather's mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"But I- I thought- I just wanted-"

"I really don't care what you wanted, that is like my diary, like you're reading my thoughts. All I ask is that no one reads my song book!"

"Your father just wanted to see if you were okay. If that means reading your song book to find out your feelings, then he will do that." My mom said in an authoritative tone that I've never heard her use. See, another person making my mom change for him. Or my mom changing to stay with him, I can never be sure.

"No! He will not read my song book and that is final! He has no right to read it, and he's not my father!" I screamed and ran to the stairs.

My mom responded in a voice that almost met my tone, "Get back down here Hayley Nicole Williams! You will listen to me!"

But by that time, I was not going to listen to her. Everything she said was going in one ear and out the other. I ran back to my room, grabbed my black converse chucks, and shoved my iPod and my cell phone in my pocket. I turned on an old CD player really loudly to make it seem like I was being an angry teenager. I locked my door, so my mom couldn't come in. Next, I opened my window and climbed out onto a tree branch that was conveniently next to my window. I bet tons of teenagers have snuck out the same way I was now. After I scrambled to the bottom, I ran around my house and walked down the sidewalk, looking like any other teenager in this town, my blond hair pulled in a ponytail, swishing as I walked.

As I walked through town, I was relieved that no one stared at me.

That was at least until I passed a music store.

A couple of boys were standing in near the door. One of the boys, who had dark wavy brown hair, which was pretty long for a guy, with brown eyes, stared at me as a looked in the window of the cool looking store, before turning away. Not sure what he was doing or if he was talking to someone else or talking about me, I continued on; trying to forget about it. A few minutes later, I faintly heard the jingle of a store door opening, and heard the laughter of the guys that I assume were in the music store. But I ignored them and kept walking. But little did I know I couldn't ignore them for long; especially because I will catch the eyes of a few of them.

I soon heard the sound of a band warming up and saw the signs of an October music festival. I joined the growing crowd, hoping some decent Tennessee music would make me forget about the fight with my parents and the strange music store boys. Maybe ten minutes after I joined the crowd, the band came on stage and started to play some cool punk music that I jammed out with the rest of the crowd. I guess Tennessee won't be so bad if I can find some more good music.

Taylor

I was extremely bored on a Friday night in early October so, my brother Justin, and my friends Jason, Josh, and Zac decided to tear me away from my bedroom and drag me to the music store in town. All of us are musicians so we love the store; with all of its cool guitars and drums and other musical instruments. It is also one of the only stores that still sells retro vinyl's and stuff like that. I really love the store and could talk forever about it. It's a cool place, but I wasn't in the mood to move, never mind go out.

I wasn't really listening to my friends but I heard Justin was telling a joke before Jason cut him off,

"Did you hear that some new family is moving into town?" He asked.

"No," all of us excited about someone new in this town. A family moving in was big news in Franklin. Everyone knows everyone here, and no one moves in.

"Yeah, apparently, the father use to live here but moved to Mississippi. He met someone and got married, adopted her kid and stuff before his job transferred here. My mom's been talking about it for weeks. She wants someone new to talk to I guess. They have a thirteen year old."

"Is it a girl?" Zac asked

"I don't know man. I sure hope so," Jason responded.

"Cool, fresh meat. I hope it's a hot girl" Josh responded. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that was a problem.

We all started to picture what the family would look like. I tried to, but all I saw was fire truck red. Why? I have no idea.

No one said anything for a while. Jason paced near the front of the store, deep in thought about something. Then his head popped up, and he stared out the window. At what? I have no clue. But he stared at it for a solid three minutes, before he looked over at us with a grin on his face.

Getting increasingly bored, we decided to go to the musical festival in that was just a two minute walk from the store. Myself, I wanted to go home and sleep, but my friends were intent on dragging me to this concert. There were going to be some good bands, so we expected there to be a lot of Nashville kids there. Jason and I walked behind the three other boys. Jason started laughing,

"What?" I asked

"I just saw this girl..." He replied.

"And…" I urged him on,

"She seems like your type, or maybe Josh's." He said with a smirk.

"Every decent looking girl is Josh's type."

"Yeah you're right. But I'm serious; she looks like your type."

"Whatever you say, J," I said rolling my eyes. I swear he's always trying to set me up with someone! I can't even deal with myself, never mind a girlfriend.

When we got to the park where the festival was being held at, there were already at least one hundred and fifty people there; and even more were pulling up and walking from their cars. One thing was for sure, it was going to be an insane show; at least for Franklin. I could already feel my anxiety growing with the crowd. I shouldn't be here, I should be by myself, not standing in the middle of a huge crowd; fueling my own anxiety.

After about ten minutes of waiting, the first band came up on stage and started playing their songs. Even though I didn't know the band or any of the songs they were singing, I danced and jammed along with everyone else. Sometimes, music makes me forget, it makes me feel better about life, maybe it's the fact that some other people are suffering way worse than me and it makes me feel sick to know that I'm depressed. That could be it. But like some terrible pop song on the radio, depression gets stuck in your head at the most awful moments.

At about eight o'clock the next band came up.

After a while of listening to bands I didn't know. I started looking around to see if I knew anyone. At the same time, another girl had stopped dancing, and was pulling something out of her pocket. I guess it was her phone. She dodged through the crowd a walked a little further away so she could hear. I could tell she was angry because her hands were curled into fists. She hung up suddenly and walked back towards the edge of the crowd. That was when I got a really good look at her.

She had medium length blond hair pulled up in a ponytail, skinny like a stick, no real curves to her yet, and was pretty short. She had green eyes and was probably the prettiest girl I had ever seen. She kept jumping up to see over the heads of the taller people in front of her. It was so adorable (yeah, I'm pretty sure I just lost some man points for the day for thinking that). After a while of her trying to see over someone in front of her, she looked around; I guess for a better view. She started to walk towards the back of the crowd. My eyes followed her. I guess she had found the rock of Franklin's park. She had decided on climbing up the huge rock, where teens usually come to hang with their friends. She quickly figured out how to get up and climbed to the top of the rock with ease. She sat with her feet dangling, enjoying the music. She seemed content with the height she was watching from, with her straight blond hair starting to fall out of her ponytail. She head banged along with everyone else from her high perch. I tried to turn my attention away from her, because I didn't want to be a stalker, staring at strangers and all.

Soon after the girl made it to the top I felt a tap on my arm. I guess Josh noticed me not paying attention to the band anymore and started to question me.

"What's wrong, Tay?"

"Nothing, I just saw something,"

"What, I don't see anything over there," he said, following my gaze.

"Just some girl,"

"Which one, the one with the brown hair?" he said, staring at some borderline anorexic brown-haired willowy girl at the base of the rock in skimpy clothing, typical Nashville girl.

"No, the short one with blond hair," I said still staring at the girl.

"Oh yeah, I see her. She's pretty hot," he said staring at the same girl. I couldn't respond to that, knowing that wasn't the proper way to describe her. She wasn't hot or sexy. Well I guess, but that seemed degrading. She was beautiful or gorgeous.

Josh went back to the crowd, and Jason replaced him. He followed my gaze to the girl.

"I see you've found her." Jason said, confusing me.

"What?" He didn't respond, just went back to jamming with the rest of the crowd.

I looked back at the girl again. I had the urge to go talk to her, but I didn't, knowing I probably wouldn't see her again. Knowing she wouldn't be able to hear me over the music. But her face stayed engraved in my mind.

At the end of the show, the crowd separated and I searched for the girl again, but she was long gone. Justin and I walked home together, as he is my brother who lives in the same house as me. He tried to talk to me a couple of times. But I didn't hear a single word he said. All I could think about was that girl. Not a single depressing thought in mind. I had only seen her once, and she had me mesmerized.

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><p><strong>Hey I just met you<strong>

**And this is crazy**

**But tap that button**

**And review maybe? (I hate that song! Why can't they play Paramore on the radio instead of that?)**


	4. CH 3 Shock

**Okay guys, I know its been forever, but I don't really go on fanfiction anymore, and I barely work on this. I have some of the chapters done, but I write a lot of original stuff now. I still love this story, and will try to work on it, but I'm a high school student and have a lot of work. I feel bad that I haven't posted in a while and wanted to give you guys an explanation.**

**In honor of Paramore album #4, Paramore, I shall post something.**

**Well, how was I to know that what we carved in stone would be so temporary? Well, how was I to know that my first crack in luck would not be the last? It won't be the last. - Teenagers by Hayley Williams (Paramore)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

**Shock**

**Hayley**

Half way through the concert, my mother called. I guess she figured out I wasn't in my room. Feeling my phone buzzing in my pocket, I pulled it out and walked to the edge of the crowd.

"Hello," I said timidly, waiting for the screaming voice of my mother.

"HAYLEY NICOLE WILLIAMS WHERE ARE YOU!"

"Um…"

"HOW DARE YOU RUN AWAY FROM THIS HOUSE! I GOT SO WORRIED. WHERE ARE YOU? YOU DIDN'T COME DOWN FOR DINNER, AND YOUR FATHER IS OUT LOOKING FOR YOU. WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"I'm in town, I found a concert and lost track of time. I'm sorry. I just can't stand it when people read my song book, and you know that. Why would you let him do that? It's like going and messing up an OCD person's room!"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR FATHER DID, THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO RUN AWAY-"

"I DIDN'T RUN AWAY, I SNUCK OUT, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. AND HE'S NOT MY FATHER!"

"YOU GET HOME RIGHT NOW YOUNG LADY, WE NEED TO HAVE A SERIOUS TALK-"

I got sick of hearing her yell at me so I hung up. She called back few more times but I ignored my phone vibrating. I moved more into the crowd, and felt someone's eyes on me. But before I could see who it was, they turned away.

One thing that's annoying about being short is can't see over people's giant heads. I jumped up and down just to try to see over them. I got tired after a while, looking around to see if there was anything I could stand on; to be able to see the band, not just hear them. I looked around for a while before I found a pretty large rock that seemed easy enough to climb. This is where being small comes in handy; you can fit in small spaces. I put my foot in a small crack at the base of the rock. I scaled the rock as if it were a rock wall. Soon enough, I scrambled to the top, where I sat down with my feet dangling off the rock. I could finally see the stage.

Soon the concert ended, I jumped off the rock, thankfully not breaking anything; and I walked home. I walked into the front door, where my parents were sitting on the couch waiting for me. My stepfather didn't look that mad, but my mom was furious. She had never been angry at me before, so this is a new experience for me.

"HAYLEY! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! WHY IN THE NAME OF THE LORD DID YOU SNEEK OFF LIKE THAT? AND THEN YOU HANG UP ON ME! HOW DARE YOU!" She shouted. My stepdad calmed her down and said to me, "She was just worried about you, Hayley. I'm sorry that I looked in your book, I didn't know it would make _that_ you upset. We left you some dinner on the table. I'll see you in the morning. Christie, are you coming?" my dad asked my mom. She followed soundlessly. I think she was shocked at her own rage.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a slice of pizza from the open box. I ate the cold pizza, even though I wasn't very hungry. Then I climbed the stairs two at a time, went into my bedroom and into the connected bathroom to take a shower. By the time I got into my bed, I was completely drained, physically and emotionally.

**Taylor**

I woke up the next morning in my bed, though I don't remember falling asleep or even getting in bed. The sun filled my room, and even though its nine o'clock on a Saturday, it's way too early to be up. But the smell of my mother cooking got me out of bed faster than you can say bacon. My brothers, who were all up by this point, laughed at my running, and almost falling, down the stairs.

"Someone's up early," my brother Chris joked, "Someone must've used Windex to let in the extra light!" yeah, Chris isn't the funniest one of all of us. No one tells jokes about Windex commercials; except my brother.

My whole family sat down at the table for a healthy breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, biscuits, and more. Let's just say we all gained like ten pounds from all of the food.

Most of the conversation was blocked out of my mind, my own playing in my head. The only thing I was able to catch was:

"There's going to be a new family moving into to town soon," My mom said to our dad.

"Yeah, Jason was telling us about that yesterday," Justin said before my dad could squeeze a word in. "Word is that they have one kid, maybe a little older than Taylor,"

"That's what I heard too. I don't know if it's a boy or girl though. They should start moving in next week."

"That's cool," Justin said.

I sat and listened but I didn't feel like talking anyway.

The whole conversation reminded me of the pretty blond girl I saw at the concert. Not knowing who she is killed me. I wanted to know her. It's a weird feeling, like you're just drawn to that person. I wonder what her life is like. It's kind of creepy in a way, to want to know someone that you'll never see again.

"What are you going to do today, Taylor?" My mom asked. I shrugged. She then gave me a look that said, "In words please."

"I don't know yet. I'm really thinking about going back to bed." I said sarcastically.

"Tay, you're such a lazy ass!" Justin shouted.

"Language Justin," my father joked from the kitchen, where he was washing the plates.

We all started laughing then.

After I finished my breakfast fit for a man twice my weight (in my defense, I'm a growing boy, I need protein), I decided to go upstairs.

Over the years, I learned that being alone was easier for me. I didn't want to talk to others. I didn't want to share my feelings. My family didn't have a problem with that. In a way, they kind of supported it. My brothers and parents don't ask about my feelings or problems, and I listened to theirs. I'm the youngest of my family, my parents were so worn out because of my older brothers that they didn't notice anything because I didn't give them a reason to. If that sounds depressing to you, that's because it is. I've been battling a long, hard battle with my shadow, my depression, no one really knows about it. The constant feeling of utter aloneness is almost debilitating. It makes you not want to do anything or be around anyone. Which make you more lonely and depressed, so it feeds itself; it never ends. Sometimes I can push it away, but like a boomerang, it comes back and hits you in the face. Gosh, I sound like a commercial for an antidepressant or something. I'm pretty sure my friends have an idea of what's going on with me, but my brothers, my parents, completely ignorant.

I fell back on my unmade bed, depressing thoughts and anger at myself for not being able to fight this monster, the skeleton in my closet, filling my head. I sat back up, my head in my hands, trying my best to put these thoughts out of my mind. The sadness slowly ebbed away, the perfect time to play my guitar. Just enough emotion, but not so much that I can't think.

After looking at my two guitars, I decided to play on my acoustic, rather than my electric. There is something about acoustic guitars that just make me happy and calm; just what I need right now. I felt the strings and just plucked chords and notes without noticing if they made sense. Then I got a rhythm in my head and poured it on my guitar. I like how it sounded, so searched for a blank piece of paper. In the end, I didn't find one, so I had to use a ton of Post-It sticky notes instead. Little did I know that small rhythm would turn into the first song I wrote with the most important person in my life.

**Hayley**

So the next shock I get in Franklin is that I have to start school soon. Insert frowny face. Haven't I been through enough this week? I'm really in for some culture shock. Things simmered down with my mom after she realized that fighting with me wasn't getting her anywhere.

I stayed home the first week we were in Franklin, to get use to the new town. Plus my mom didn't want to just shove me into a random school while I was still an emotional wreck. Yes, moving made me an emotional wreck, or so my mom thought. That's what she claimed caused our fights. No, it didn't have anything to do with her changing into a controlling freak, not at all. Please note my sarcasm.

During the day, I walked around town, getting use to my surroundings. I ventured in every store and restaurant in the town. I really started to feel like I was a part of it.

That was until the day before I was going to start at Franklin's junior high or middle school. I was extremely worried that people were going to hate me or bully me. I didn't know what to expect. I am the new girl in a small town. Everyone is going to stare at me. I knew everything was going to be okay. I had two completely different feelings rushing through my body. I felt like something really bad was going to happen, but also something even better was going to happen.

I didn't know I was spot on.

**Taylor**

I felt like something was different when I walked into school that day. Nothing seemed different than the week before, but I couldn't shake the feeling off.

I stopped to talk to talk to Zac in the hall. He usually improves my mood with his humor. He's the only one of my group of friends, besides me, that is still in junior high; he's the youngest. He's in sixth grade, I'm in seventh, Josh and Jason are in ninth grade, and Justin already graduated. The junior high and high school are connected, so we still see Josh and Jason around, but mostly at lunch.

At my locker, I talked to some of my friends that are on the basketball team. I used to play on it too, but I decided that I cared more about my music than throwing a ball in a hoop. I also suddenly lost interest in sports in general. I used to love sports, but now I can't stand them; not that I'm not good at them anymore.

I saw Josh flirting with some girls. Nothing new. I started to put in my combo for my locker and Josh came over to talk to me.

"Dude, my friend John told me he saw a girl he didn't recognize walking into school today. Must be that new family. Apparently she's really hot."

"John doesn't know everyone in the whole school, it could be anyone."

"Yeah maybe…" He said before he spotted one of the cheerleaders and followed her. To do what, I don't know; and I'd rather not.

I finished putting in my combo and started to pull my books out of my locker. I heard someone trying to open the locker next to me. This locker never had anyone use it this year, as far as I knew. I had the same locker last year, and it was practically impossible to open.

"Why won't this stupid locker open!?" A girl shouted.

I looked over and saw her. The girl I couldn't stop staring at, the same one from the concert. At first I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me, but I had never heard her voice, so my mind couldn't make that up.

Trying not to make a fool out myself, I said, "You got stuck with the locker from hell. I had it last year. It's kinda hard to open."

"Yeah, I figured that out fast," she responded with annoyance.

"Let me help," I thought she wouldn't let me, she seemed like one of those girls who could do anything themselves; but she let me. "Rough morning?" I asked.

"Yeah, I had to shove the whole football team out my way to get to here. Why do they have to stand in the middle of the hall to talk with their friends, when short people like me need to get somewhere." She said with kind of a sarcastic tone. But she was clearly annoyed.

"Sometimes the guys here are jerks, don't mind them." I told her and asked, "Are you new here?" as she put her books in the locker and I leaned against mine.

"How easy was it to tell?" she said, smiling. I think I just died inside; gosh I sound like a love sick school boy. Even though I pretty much was.

"Na, wasn't that easy. Just Franklin is small, and the news of some family moving spread like wildfire. We knew you were coming for weeks."

She laughed and smiled. "Well that sucks for me. The least I could have was the element of surprise." She then added, after looking around at all the students, "You seem like a good guy, not a jerk like all of these other kids, who probably purposely stood in my way. Thanks for helping me with the locker…"

"Taylor,"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hayley." She said as I smiled at her and shut her locker for her. Immediately all the sad and depressing thoughts that always linger in the back of my mind vanished.

"What class do you have?" I asked, trying either help her or maybe it was to walk with her a little longer. I'm not sure which.

"Chorus/Vocals with Smith,"

"That's in the music wing; I'm on my way there for guitar."

"Cool, can I walk with you?"

"Sure," I respond, thankful for every second she could stand me.

And that's how I met Hayley Nicole Williams; by helping her open her locker. Maybe I should help clueless girls more often.

As we walked, she told me about her family and where she moved from. She's about a year older than me. She loves music and the color red. Maybe that's why I kept seeing red when they told me about the new family.

I told her a little about my life, but I let her do most of the talking. I wanted to know as much about her as possible. We were really early so we talked outside the vocal room, which was directly across from the guitar room. Josh wasn't there yet. It was one of the only classes we had together. He never got there until right before the bell rang. Jason is also in our class, but he plays bass.

Hayley and I were talking about music and bands when Jason showed up.

"What up T?" he called to me.

"Hey Jason."

"And who's this?" he asked pointing to Hayley. But I could tell he recognized her from the concert.

Hayley answered for herself, "I'm Hayley Williams. I just moved here from Mississippi."

"Cool. You play guitar too?" he asked.

"A little, but I'm not very good. I prefer to use my vocal chords as my instrument."

"Sweet, you can never have too many singers."

The three of us talked for a while until the guitar and vocal teachers showed up. The rest of the students came shortly after. Josh came over to talk to us and immediately saw Hayley. I could tell by the look in his eyes that she had caught his attention, and that's never a good sign. When Josh wants something, he tends to get it.

"Hey guys." He said, breaking up our conversation to talk about some gossip he heard from his friend John, before looking at Hayley. Hayley shuffled her feet, looking uncomfortable as we talked about people she didn't know. When she noticed that Josh's gaze was upon her, she said her stock phrase:

"Hi I'm Hayley. I just moved here from Mississippi."

"Nice, I'm Josh." He said and shook her hand. I could tell automatically that he didn't like her. We've been friends for years; I can tell when he doesn't like someone.

By her expression, I could tell she felt awkward about Josh. I don't blame her.

I can't help but think it's weird that I've known her for no more than forty five minutes, but I can already sense how she feels and read her expression. But it's a good weird.

**Jason**

I wish I had known everything I know now back before Hayley moved to Franklin. If I had known how everything would play out, I would've done things differently. I would've watched more closely, I would've stayed more connected with my friends. Maybe I could've ended it before it had even started.

I first saw Hayley when she was walking through the town and past the music store. I knew that she was going to shake things up in this small town. I didn't know that between her and our friends, we were going to take the world by storm.

A few weeks after I first saw Hayley, I walked to guitar (bass for me) class and saw Taylor laughing and talking to some girl. Taylor was pretty shy and quiet, so seeing him talking to some girl was really shocking to me. Something changed with him, and the short blond had brought it out.

I stopped being a stalker, watching the conversation and walked up to my younger friend.

"What up, T?" I asked casually.

"Hey Jason," he responded, clearly happy around his new friend.

"And who's this?" I asked jokingly, though I already knew she was the new kid from Mississippi. And she was the girl at October Fest that Taylor was staring at.

"Hi, I'm Hayley Williams. I just moved here from Mississippi." She introduced herself.

"Cool," I said and asked, "You play guitar too?"

"A little, but I'm not very good. I prefer to use my vocal chords as my instrument." She shrugged.

"Sweet, you can never have too many singers."

I'm not really sure what we talked about, but we carried on a conversation for a while until Josh showed up. I could tell something was wrong when Hayley introduced herself to Josh. But I brushed it off. I really shouldn't have. We all shouldn't have.

**Hayley**

My heart was beating so loud in my chest; I thought everyone must be able to hear it. I was just waiting for it to pop out; that's how fast it was beating. I bet the other students could smell the fear radiating off of me.

After I got my schedule from the office, I wandered in search of my locker. When I finally figured out the numbering system they had for the lockers (yeah, nobody told me) and which way the school map was telling me to go, I started down the hallway where my locker was supposed to be.

Of course, the hallway happened to be the busiest in the school. I swear all of the extremely big and tall athletes were directly in my way. I tried to figure out a way around them. I'm about five foot two and usually can fit in tight spaces; but I couldn't find a way around the people blocking me. So I chose a more direct path. First I tried elbowing my way through the crowd. No one moved and I couldn't get through. Then I tried to ask them to move. No one heard me. So finally I chose to pull a classic angry Hayley move.

"MOVE," I shouted a pushed my way through the crowd. People were slightly confused at my sudden outburst. But eventually I made it through the crowd by just pushing my way through; making a ton of people unhappy, to say the least.

I found a locker number near mine and counted down from it to find my locker. This locker looked quite normal on the outside; but it turned out to be the locker from hell. I tried putting the combo in, but it wouldn't open. I tried three more times, staring at it as if this locker had just dropped in from outer space.

At one point, I even yelled, "Why won't this stupid locker open!?" I was so frustrated by then.

I was about to just carry all of my books around when the first nice person I met in Franklin decided to help me.

"You got stuck with the locker from hell. I had it last year. It's really hard to open." The boy next to me said. He was tall. That's an understatement, he was extremely tall. Well, compared to me he was. Everyone is tall in my eyes. He had dark brown hair that was pretty long and curly, like a mini afro and brown eyes, his skin was kind of pale; like mine, which never tanned. Very cute for a Tennessee boy. Just don't tell him I told you that.

"Yeah, I figured that out fast," I angrily responded. The day has just begun and I'm already done with this school.

"Let me help," I hesitantly let him; at this point, I would've let anyone try to help me. "Rough morning?" he asked me.

"Yeah, I had to shove the whole football team out my way to get to here. Why do they have to stand in the middle of the hall to talk with their friends, when short people like me need to get somewhere." I responded, not trying to hide my annoyance at my fellow students.

"Sometimes the guys here are jerks, don't mind them." He said, putting the combo, pushed up on the jammed lock and kicked the door three times. It magically opened. He then asked "Are you new here?" as I put my books in my locker. He leaned against his closed lockers as he spoke to me behind my locker's open door.

"How easy was it to tell?" I said with a dramatic tone. He laughed at my response; I could really get used to having a friend for once.

"Na, wasn't that easy. Just Franklin is small, and the news of some family moving spread like wildfire. We knew you were coming for weeks."

It was my turn to laugh "Well that sucks for me. The least I could have was the element of surprise." I paused, not wanting to make me seem desperate for a friend I said, "You seem like a good guy, not a jerk like all of these other kids, who probably purposely stood in my way. Thanks for helping me with the locker…"

"Taylor,"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hayley." I smiled at him as he slammed my locker shut. First mission accomplished; meeting a friend.

"What class do you have?" He asked, as we walked through the hall together.

"Chorus/ Vocals with Smith,"

"That's in the music wing; I'm on my way there for guitar." Bonus, the guy is a musician.

"Cool, can I walk with you?" I asked, because I clearly had no idea where I was going.

"Sure."

That's how I met my best friend Taylor Benjamin York, by having trouble with a locker. Maybe I should do that more often.

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><p><strong>How was that? I've had this typed since forever (since I started this story by typing it). But I write more often in notebooks now so its harder to get it all on here, typing it up takes forever. But I'll do it for y'all, if you still want it. <strong>

**I was glad to read that you guys thought this would be a Tayley worth reading, because I've read quite a few that sucked. It will get there, I promise. I was originally going to make this really, really, really long, but now that I write my own stuff I don't know if I want to write all I had planned anymore. Do you want this long, or should I cut it short (I'll have to fast forward through the high school stuff and All We Know Is Falling and probably a bit of Riot! too.). Let me know!**

**So how did you guys like the new album? It was different, that's for sure. Tell me what y'all think.**

**Personally, I liked it. It might not be Riot! but its something. I liked some of the more soulful stuff they wrote and loved that it was 17 songs and the two bonus tracks (called Native Tongue and Escape Route look them up on youtube). There were some songs I loved more than others. Part II rocked, didn't it? I also really liked Last Hope and Hate To See Your Heart Break. I really liked the interludes too, I wished they were longer (Anklebiters, Holiday) I'll have to re-listen to the songs to tell you more, because some sides I haven't listened to since they did the whole Four Nights Four Sides thing (which I thought was awesome), and can't remember which ones I liked. I still need to buy the CD though (as I collect CDs). Which were your favorites? Did you not like it? I will not be offended if you didn't, because it was really different.**

**That's it for now. Please review, I do read them, and I love feed back. **

**PS. Sorry for the long AN.**


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